What Happens After Surgery?

On the day of surgery I will visit before and afterwards and check that all is well. I will also go through what surgery I have carried out and my expectations from it.

The following day I will visit again and check everything before going through aftercare instructions (see below) with you.

After thumb and elbow operations I will apply a splint that stays in place for 4 weeks. During this time you will be seen in the clinic at around 2 weeks for a splint check.

At 4 weeks the splint is removed in clinic and Laura and her team of therapists will start exercises and provide additional removable splints if required. They will also contact your local therapists and go through the exercises with them. Most important of all however, they will teach you as the patient or as the parent/carer for a child how to do the exercises. This is key because the regular exercises that you do at home are what will maximise the surgical result – essentially learning to use the hand.

I like to see my patients again at 6-8weeks later to check on progress and then annually.

If further stages are required I like to leave the hand to settle for between 6 and 9 months, depending on the urgency for the next stage and the complexity of the preceding operation.

The same follow up programme applies after each stage.

What you should do after surgery